First, I'm sorry this is so short. I was just writing, and suddenly said, "This is a good place to put 'To Be Continued...'" so I did. The next part will probably be up at another time, close to this time. Tomorrow? Or something? And THAT will be the end of the trials. Then, keep reading on, because I'll add an extra that's an "Easter egg" with extra special stuff. Just watch, it'll be great. For all of you still reading, THANK YOU. I appreciate you and your support!

So, without further ado:

READ ON!

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Phoenix Wright: MangaLandian Attorney
Case File 1; Turnabout Pirates
Day 6: Trial; Former

January 22, 5:32
Fangirl Order Headquarters
Defendant Lobby No. 2

That morning, I was pacing back and forth. Chopper followed close behind me to make sure my vitals were still working, and the reindeer finally asked what was going on, "Something wrong, Nick?"

"Where is everyone?" I asked, getting nervous, "It's almost time for the trial, and they haven't even so much as given me a scrap of evidence I could use today, and where did Luffy go, anyway? He said he had to go to the bathroom, but it's been nearly a half hour!"

"The others haven't arrived yet, Nick… but…" Chopper looked at the door as I continued to pace, "Maybe they're on their way…"

"We have less than a half hour left…" I murmured, checking my watch, "Gah! 5:33!"

"We're heeeeeeere!" I looked up happily as the six missing members of the Straw Hat Pirates entered the lobby, "And Nami-san has found the best evidence of them all!"

I completely ignored Sanji, sweating like a frog on dry land, "Luffy, where were you? You're not making my job much easier!"

"I was just talking to someone," Luffy replied matter-of-factly, as if that would suffice. Looking across at the glares from the other Straw Hats, it would have to do. I sighed and turned to Nami, who approached with a folder in her hand.

"That Fighting Comet Fangirl gave this to me. She said it might be useful," Nami said, handing me the file. I blinked at the title, and Nami said what it was for those not reading it, "It's the list of those who are part of the Zoro and Luffy fanpairing club at the Fangirl Order Headquarters."

"F… Fanpairing…?" I muttered, looking at the file, "What was a fanpairing again…?"

---

"You don't even know what a fanpairing is?" Cody asked incredulously. I tried to focus on my newspaper. I really needed to keep my mouth in check. My partner, Maya Fey, was playing with her 9 year old friend, Cody Hackins, which wouldn't be that bad if my partner weren't 17! Apparently, at the moment, the two were using their Steel Samurai Trading Cards to battle each other, or something like that. The two of them were laughing about something, and I had heard the word "Fanpairing". Without thinking, I asked what that meant. Then the two of them stared at me like I was some sort of alien from outer space.

"Well, let's take the Steel Samurai!" Maya said after recovering from her stupor. Cody nodded, mentioning that it was the "perfect example", "You see, the Neo Olde Tokyo's princess and the Horse Mistress both have a crush on the Steel Samurai, but the question is, who does the Steel Samurai love?"

"How should I know?" I asked, "You're the one with E.S.P., Maya."

"That's just IT," Cody said, taking on the role of the teacher (since when did 4th graders start lecturing lawyers? What was the world coming to…?), "No one knows who he loves, but people have differing opinions on the matter, some say that he should be with the princess and some say he should be with the Horse Mistress."

"And some say he should be with the Evil Magistrate," Maya interjected. Cody nodded.

"But… isn't the Evil Magistrate a… guy…?" I asked. I may not know much about the show, but at least I knew THAT.

"Doesn't matter," Cody replied, "As long as people THINK they can be together, there will be a fanpairing of the couple, jeez…" The boy returned to placing a rare Steel Samurai's Katana card on his Steel Samurai fighter card, "For a grownup, you sure are dumb…" I grumbled a bit to myself, returning to my newspaper. It's not like that kind of stuff will be on his next test at school. Let's see him scrape a D on his next report card; then I'll have bragging rights.

Of course, bragging rights over a 9 year old seemed a little… petty… Damn it, had I sunk so low as to be letting a CHILD insult me? I sunk lower into the park bench, trying to make it look like I was actually reading the newspaper that I was holding. I'd have to start showing more people my attorney's badge. My poor, poor ego needed it…

---

"You don't even know what a fanpairing is?" The crew asked incredulously, the same way Cody had done so last year.

"O… of course I do…" I said with a chuckle (the last thing I needed were people Maya's age laughing at me as well), "I was just… joking…" Some of them (mainly Zoro and Sanji) gave me looks, but I purposefully ignored them to look at the file. There were names I had never seen before on it, but some struck a chord, "Saiyako…" The one who told Luffy about MangaLandian Earthlings, "D… DigitalDreamer…?" There at the top was the name of that Fangirl… It wasn't much of a stretch to say she had started this whole thing, but I kept quiet about it when I saw a name that Nami seemed to have circled herself, "Imra… Bid…" I gasped, "N… Nami, this is perfect!"

"I know," Nami said, puffing up with pride, "Since when am I ever wrong about something? Anyway, that'll be 200,000 Beli for the information."

"Nami-san is so beautiful when she's exalting herself!" Sanji crooned. I nodded, a large smile spreading across my face. It was contagious, apparently, as the others were beginning to smile as well.

"This… this is it! This is the day we acquit Luffy and catch the real murderer!" There was a cheer among the crew as I turned to take Luffy to the courtroom. This was it, the final showdown… "Sakura Tenshi… you're mine…"

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January 22, 6:00
Fangirl Order Headquarters
Courtroom No. 3

The gavel banged down to enter in the last day of Imra Bid's murder case, and the Judge looked about, "Are we ready?"

"Yes, Your Honor, the Prosecution is ready," Tashigi replied.

"The Defense is ready, Your Honor," I said with a curt nod.

"Prosecution?" The Judge asked, allowing Tashigi to provide her opening statements. The prosecutor smirked a smirk that made my stomach tie up in knots.

"The only opening statement I have is this," Tashigi said, wagging her finger nonchalantly, "The defendant and I have come to an… agreement…" The audience murmured as I turned to look at Luffy.

"WHAT?" I shouted at the captain, who had that same smug smile on his face, although this one seemed… fake… "That's where you went when you said you were using the restroom…? You didn't… you didn't…"

The Judge slammed her gavel down, and the prosecutor continued, her smug smile not leaving, "The defendant has promised to testify in court about these rubber gloves," she said, "I think… this testimony will be the decisive evidence needed to find the victim's murderer…"

"Luffy, you couldn't have agreed to this!" I hissed under my breath. Luffy refused to respond. Oh well… two could play at this game…

"I see, then," The Judge said, nodding, "would the defendant, Monkey D. Luffy, please take the stand?"

"OBJECTION!" I shouted, making everyone stare at me, "The defendant does NOT want to take the stand!"

"What are you saying, Mr. Wright?" Tashigi growled. She pointed at Luffy's figure, "He's already halfway to the podium as we speak!"

"You forget," I said, smiling. Luffy seemed a little out-of-sorts as I continued, "If you recall, Luffy is not representing himself. It is I who state his words in court," I slammed my hands on the desk, "And I say, as his defense attorney, that he does NOT want to take the stand."

There was murmuring among the audience about my conduct. I had never… used my power to this extent. Because I trusted my clients to the end, I always believed in their judgment… but now… something seemed weird about the captain's conduct… I felt sick even as I spoke, but this was for the best, for Luffy's freedom…

…Right…?

"He can't do that, can he?" Luffy asked the Judge. She simply shook her head.

"He can," She replied, "I never would have expected such a move by him… but it is true… He can…"

"Well then," Luffy said, looking directly at me. I could see that it was supposed to be a glare… but I saw a bit of sadness, as if to say, "I'm sorry". He then turned back to the judge, "I say that Nick isn't my attorney anymore. Nor is he my Nakama." He nodded, "That is all."

I must have felt like Detective Goodman when that knife stabbed him in his chest, the one knife that started Lana Skye's trial. Luffy twisted it even after he took the podium, looking much like Edgeworth: cold as ice. It didn't suit the captain at all, "I am ready to testify. Nick… You're fired."

"Cut the crap!" I shouted, "You can't mean that! Luffy!"

"Captains orders…" Luffy replied, not even bothering to look at me in my desperate state, "you have nothing to do with the Straw Hat Pirates from hereon out."

"Well, this is certainly different…" The Judge said, ignoring the shouts from the Straw Hat Pirates in the audience, "The defendant, and defense, witnessing at the same time? How are you supposed to cross-examine yourself?"

Luffy put on a faux smile, "I guess Nick could do that for me, if he asks really nice." I seriously was about to ask if he was a doppelganger, not Luffy at all, but that sentence destroyed my ideas of a Luffy clone. That sentence… was one hundred percent Luffy. I then realized that the reason he was firing me was because I was refusing to let him testify. He would keep me on, as long as I let him take the stand…

"Well then, defen… Ahhh, Mr. Phoenix…?" The Judge seemed unsure of what to call me; professionally, of course.

"Defense," I replied, "I'm staying on as Monkey D. Luffy's defense attorney," Luffy was even willing to fire me if I stopped him from testifying here. That meant that whatever he was going to say was important. I needed to tread carefully from here on… "Please, witne… Luffy… go on with your testimony." And he did:

"Well, you see… we were in the alleyway… We had the rubber gloves with us…

"I didn't need them, so we were throwing the gloves around, pulling the gloves out one by one."

He looked a little saddened, "We… got into a fight… over who would pull out the next glove… and I yanked on the box… and it ripped…"

I could tell he was feeling terrible, like a man just admitting his guilt, "She got mad at me… we were yelling at each other… and then…"

The Judge shook her head, "I see, so that's what happened." I shook my head, sweating all over ("No!" I shouted, "It can't be! Luffy, why are you lying? Why?"), "Well, Mr. Wright, if you want, you can cross-examine your witness."

I nodded, albeit uncertainly… "I… I will… Your Honor." Luffy turned to me, smiling a bit, and I glared at him, "Luffy, why didn't you tell us you were with the victim during the night? You claimed you only saw her during the day!"

"OBJECTION!" Tashigi shouted, "The defendant was simply trying to hide his crime! Now he has nothing to hide. He's realized that this is the best thing to do…"

"Luffy… this can't be true…" I muttered quietly. Luffy didn't reply (he probably didn't even hear me speaking), "Witness! I need you to tell me: What happened, exactly, during your fight with the victim?" Luffy seemed to be caught off guard, and I smirked. If Luffy was lying, then he obviously would contradict his own testimony here trying to think up a murder on the fly.

"Well…" The captain said, a little reluctant to continue, "You see… um… she was yelling at me… telling me I was an idiot… for ripping the box…" He laughed a bit, "It didn't affect me much. Zoro calls me an idiot all the time. But she was… um… really angry, and shouting… I was… angry too. How dare she yell at me? So… I… punched her…"

"You… punched her?" I asked, "That doesn't sound like something that would kill her by impalement…"

"Well, yeah…" Luffy replied, "But… I'm not finished! Yeah, I punched her, really hard!" He said, punching the air to show, "Gomu Gomu no Pistol and all that. She was really mad… she, um… she took her Katana out…"

"HOLD IT!" I shouted, pointing at Luffy, "She took her Katana out of her sheath? Did she attack you?"

"I… um… yeah…" Luffy replied, "She rushed at me, swinging the sword with a shout, and I…"

"You acted in self defense," I said, "You assaulted her, but she was clearly trying to kill you. You slammed the Katana from her hands and the Katana flew into the air. As she dropped to the floor, the Katana dropped down, accidentally impaling her!" I slammed my hands on the desk, and the camera panned to give me yet another close up (Swooshy background included!), "Imra Bid wasn't murdered, she died on ACCIDENT!"

The audience murmured, and only stopped when the gavel was brought down, "That… that could actually happen…" The Judge said after deliberating my claims.

"OBJECTION!" Tashigi shouted, "That's just… that's… too farfetched!"

"Farfetched, maybe…" The Judge said. She then nodded her head and continued, "but how many times has the defendant done something that should normally be impossible?" The prosecutor hissed, but did not reply to that question.

"But that's not how it happened!" Luffy shouted, "Nick, stop this! You're ruining everything!"

"Witness, I suggest you…"

"I refuse! I won't stop talking! I'm the captain, you're supposed to listen to ME!" Luffy sounded like a child who was throwing a temper tantrum when things didn't go his way, "You're fired! You're FIRED!" I gave a shout when he suddenly whirled around and rushed towards the door. Everyone gasped and I started after him even as Tashigi prepared to chase the captain down, her Katana practically out of its sheath already.

"Your Honor, I'll get him back," I said, "Just wait, let me bring him back! I need to talk to him about this testimony he's giving! It sounds like idiocy to me!"

The Judge looked at Tashigi, who waited for the woman's decision. After a sigh, the Judge shook her head, "Fine, the court will take a slight recess. Bring him back by…" She looked at her watch, "Noon, alright?"

Tashigi sighed in defeat, and I nodded, "Yes, Your Honor!" I said, practically saluting the Judge as I rushed from the courtroom in pursuit of my captain. As I rushed from the room, I could hear the gavel being brought down, that court was in recess. The audience's talking was loud and rambunctious. I had to get Luffy back quickly…

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January 22, 11:48
Fangirl Order Headquarters
Defendant Lobby No. 2

It was no surprise that I found Luffy in the Defendant Lobby, still looking like that spoiled brat who didn't get his way, "Luffy… are you… is that… what were you doing in there? You practically got yourself declared 'guilty'!"

"I did it… because I… I didn't want you to lose your dream…" Luffy said, after a moment of silence between us, "She said she was going to take it away if I didn't testify…"

"You lied… for a… what?" I asked, obviously not getting where this was going.

"Your dream!" Luffy said, looking quite peeved that I didn't understand why he was sacrificing his acquittal for this, "Your dream to be an attorney! To help people when they have no one else to turn to! Tashigi said that if I didn't testify that I killed Imra Bid; that she was going to make the Fangirl Order take your badge away… for being friends with pirates…"

I was silent for a moment, even as Luffy looked dejected that I didn't realize what he was doing, and I smiled. It was all I could do to keep from laughing aloud. Dropping onto the couch next to the captain, I looked at the young man… with all his captain abilities; it was hard to see that he was only Ema's age. Now… I could see it. Even Luffy could feel uncertain… Without thinking, I placed my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to me, blinking, "Luffy… you're… an idiot."

He looked confused, and I smiled, "Sure, I may not be able to defend anyone HERE, in YOUR world, but I doubt the Fangirl Order can keep me from defending people in my world (Since when did I start calling Earth "My World"? Oh well… it kinda fit…). You should have seen the time the chief of police himself attempted to wrench my badge from me! I'm not going down that easily. Besides, Luffy, wouldn't going to jail hamper your journey to accomplish YOUR dream?"

Luffy thought about it a moment, and he laughed that laugh that I had come to expect from him, "I guess you're right, I doubt One Piece would be in a jail cell, anyway!" The two of us laughed a bit, and the captain hopped from the couch, "Come on! Let's go show Tashigi who the REAL murderer is!" I smiled at him, simply because I could see that this was Luffy as he should be. His doppel-ganger seemed to have rushed off somewhere else…

"Alright then, Luffy, let's do it," I reached out and took his hand, shaking it, "Just as long as you promise not to lie again. People get arrested for lying on the witness stand, you know."

"Really?" Luffy proclaimed, eyes wide, "I never would have guessed!" I began to sweat. This kid was really a handful…

…

To Be Continued…

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